This was one of ten palaces in the Panama Pacific International Exposition of 1915 celebrating the completion of the Panama Canal, the vitality of world commerce, and San Francisco's recovery from the 1906 earthquake. The fair covered a square mile and ran from February through December. Because it was planned as a temporary exhibit, the statues were mostly paper mache while the buildings were wood plastered with gypsum and hemp. A few, including the elephants and fountain in Sausalito, still survive. Like the current Palace, they have been rebuilt in concrete from molds of the originals.
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| The Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco |
Bernard Maybeck designed this palace as a fictional ruin with Roman and Greek inspirations. Maidens sculpted by Ulric Ellerhusen top the colonnade, weeping at the thought of a world without art. Their tears were supposed to water trees in those boxes but the structures wouldn't hold so much weight.
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| Weeping Maidens top each set of pillars on the colonnade at the Palace of Fine Arts. |
Alexander Bell and Thomas Watson opened the Exposition with the first transcontinental phone call from San Francisco to New York City. Visitors rode in wicker carts through a miniature Panama Canal. At night, lights shining through Austrian cut glass gems lit up the sky bestowing the name, The Jewel City.
A day ticket cost 50 cents; an annual pass cost $10. I learned that Ansel Adams was given an annual pass by his father with instructions to attend daily and learn about the different countries, technologies and scientific wonders. (He still studied composition, grammar, and music at home in the evenings.)
We ran into this lovely group of friends celebrating the Exposition in authentic regalia complete with pennants.
A day ticket cost 50 cents; an annual pass cost $10. I learned that Ansel Adams was given an annual pass by his father with instructions to attend daily and learn about the different countries, technologies and scientific wonders. (He still studied composition, grammar, and music at home in the evenings.)
We ran into this lovely group of friends celebrating the Exposition in authentic regalia complete with pennants.
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| Historically dressed for the 1915 Exposition. |
Immediately after they drove off in their flivver a cadre of bicyclists rode through celebrating World Naked Bike Ride day. No photos but it was a unique juxtaposition.
Enjoy the day, Ann
Enjoy the day, Ann